Descent into Madness
by malcious lufoy
Summary: Sirius is back, but there's something not quite right about him. He seems to hate Snape more then is the norm, and Snape is hating back in equal measure. Harry, Remus and even Dumbleore can't seem to stop what's going on or find out what it's about.


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****Descent into Madness**

by: malciouslufoy

Summary: People just don't understand how much Sirius Black and Severus Snape hate each other.

Rating: I don't know yet...probably R. There's a lot of violent scenes planned, and there's swearing and such as well.

Warning: I don't know if I want thisto be slash/slashy or not. Maybe. If it turns up, you are forewarned if you don't like that sort of thing. Read at your peril. (If you don't know what slash is, it includes male/male relationships and such, and if you can't stand it, then don't read this.)

Category: Drama/Angst. Maybe hurt/comfort if I think it's ok.

Disclaimer: Don't getany monetary value from writing this. Characters are all J.K. Rowlings, etc etc sure you've all read it before and skipped over this part already :) But Just So You Know, Severus Snape, Sirius Black, Harry, Dumbledore, remus, Hermione, all the character and the HP verse are not mine. (Tiny pang at the admittance.)

Author's note: THIS HAS NO BETA! But I want one! There are probably thousands of hideous grammarical mistakes in here and things that could use other people's opinions/impact. Mail me if you want to Beta the story, I have the basic first part of it already in my head. Thing two- this all started out with me wondering why Snape and Sirius hate each other so much, and how they seem to be evenly matched in all things. Anyhow, on with the show!

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Chapter 1: Dumbledore Imposes Again on Snape's Self-Controll 

Severus Snape loathed children. He loathed teaching them, he loathed the school and it's grimy corners shadowing the most horrible moments of his life, he loathed the too happy, too lenient teachers and their inconsistent eccentric babble. He even loathed potions, sometimes, when he was down in the dark of his dungeon, cramping over a cauldron with the babbling little voices of students wondering what the hell he was doing there, when the one thing he had enjoyed before..._that_ happened became so hackneyed and overused it made him sick with anger. He loathed the walls of the school that wouldn't let him go by one day without the pricking sensation of someone probing him because of that hideous tattoo on his arm, and he hated the site of the Potter boy with his shiny scar and green eyes so much he wished sometimes he could just reach across his desk slit his throat.

There was always one thing, though, that kept Snape there. Two things, actually, that connected him to Hogwarts castle despite all that. Dumbledore was one. People never understood how Snape felt obligated to him. It wasn't a matter of choice that he obeyed the man, it simply was. The headmaster had taken him in; the headmaster handed him his only outlet while in service toVoldemort. There had never been a time in his life where anything of that sort had happened, so when it did, he was obliged from sheer circumstance to do what Dumbledore asked him to. He was (what he deemed) slavishly devoted to him because of it.

He also understood the Headmaster had been counting on it, but he didn't care.

That was the second thing. He was tired of caring. He had cared too much when Lucius asked him to join, he had cared too much when he informed Dumbledore of the possible attack on Potter, he had cared too much when deciding which side he was ultimately going to be on. Thus it was that he would do anything the Headmaster told him to. He had made the final choice in his life, and whatever else Dumbledore wanted from him he would get, because he was too apathetic and afraid to try on his own. It wasn't even really Dumbledore that he had pledged himself too. He could really care less what the old coot was like or what he felt, it was that one action that he based his loyalty on.

So, when Dumbledore asked him to teach, he taught. When he asked him to stay, he stayed, when he asked him to spy, he spied. It was also why, during sixth year double potions with Slytherin and Griffindor, when Potter had made a monumental mistake and exploded his cauldron to high heaven and Snape was ready to take revenge, that a simple note from Dumbledore made him leave the class without handing out detentions or taking off points.

He simply slammed the door shut and made his way out of the hallway, the edge of his mouth ticking away erratically as he stalked to the Headmaster's office. The children...one day they were going to graduate with a full blown war on their hands and then they wouldn't be laughing and giggling about making such mistakes again. Mistakes in war were deadly, in the most literal sense, and then they would be regretting how much amusement they took from it.

"Carmel corn." He snarled it as he approached, riding up the stairs to the secluded office at the top of the tower. Sometimes he believed the Headmaster simply chose these ridiculous passwords not because he enjoyed sweets, but because he enjoyed annoying him.

Dumbledore was sitting calmly at his desk that was scattered with haphazard papers, eyes twinkling yet again in the same fashion they had been when he was enrolled in Hogwarts. Same old, same old, prelude to horrendous discussion #2, after sugary password #1. "You wished to see me."

"Yes, Severus. I hope I wasn't interrupting anything of yours, but this is an...intriguing matter."  
Snape stilled himself, taking a breath. "Nothing that hasn't happened before. Headmaster."

Dumbledore sighed. He could tell Severus was angry, and by the tight, hard lines etched in the other's face he could see it wasn't one of his Potion's Master's better days, either. Something must have been happening in one of his classes. He really didn't want to have to force this on him, but it was just too severe a matter to let go. "Ahem. Well, Severus, Neville Longbottom came in earlier today to speak with me."

Snape blinked. Neville Longbottom? What did he have to do with anything? "Is this about how I teach the class? I assure you, if I did not instill-"

"No, it is not about your conduct in class. That has always been impeccable...if a bit skewed. He simply had recently come back from St. Mungo's that weekend from visiting his parents."

"Ah, yes. From the containment ward, if I remember." Snape played along, not prodding the headmaster into revealing what he wanted to say. Dumbledore would get to it, eventually. He seemed especially uncomfortable with telling him this. Snape smiled to himself a bit, enjoying the moment more maliciously then he should.

"Yes, he was visiting them in the containment ward, when one of the other patients was causing a ruckus, and had to be secluded." Snape stayed silent through the irrelevancy of the story, waiting for the reason why he needed to be here. "Neville had overheard one of the nurses speaking, and it seems, well, it seems that this person claims to be Sirius Black. Too all accounts and from the Pensieve memory from Neville, it is very possible."

There was a deafening silence in the room. Albus could almost feel the whirlwind of things Snape was thinking. His Potion's Master was deathly still, the only indication of thinking was the queer glitter in his eye before his face erupted into emotion.

"It's impossible. I'm sure there are plenty of people who claim to be many things in the mental ward. If one of them danced a jig and shouted he was Harry Potter" Snape spat, "when the real thing was staring you in the face you would smile and ask me to fetch him!"

"Neville had seen the man quite clearly as he was being hauled off, he swears he had the exact likeness of Black, so much so he thought he had seen a ghost. If there was any way, any possible way that Sirius could be alive, I'm afraid he's at St. Mungo's right now in the psychiatric ward."

Snape stayed silent. There was no way he could be back. Snape was denying it with every fiber of his being. He had already gotten drunk with joy when he watched the hilariously shocked look on the Black's face as he died, went mad with laughter, choked on the irony and spat on his "grave" in tribute. But inside, he knew, could _feel_ it. He knew something was up when-

"Headmaster. If Black is alive, then what does this have to do with me? I have already left my class unattended for too long. If you have nothing further to add-"

At seeing the nonchalant look on Severus' face, the Headmaster sighed inwardly. There was no hedging around it, now. "I need you to go and confirm this. If Sirius is indeed alive, you are the only one possible that can bring him out of he hospital, Severus."

And here was the crux of the matter. The second bombshell piece to add to his day.

"Why do _I_ have to bring him out of there? Do you think I would resist a moment if I could leave him to rot in that godforsaken hell hole if I thought I could?" Snape's face was livid, painted red as the implication that not only was Black alive, but now he was forced to fetch him. "The bastard dies and then has the nerve to come back to life?" His voice was as careful and jagged as glass as he spoke. "If I ever, ever see his face again I would not resist Avada'ing him straight in his chest."

Dumbledore's eyes were no longer twinkling. He knew full well how serious Snape's words were. "You will do no such thing! You will go there, and extract him from the hospital without delay, and without any sort of confrontation with Sirius Black at all. It is important we know how he is back and how he ended up there. Meddling in death is something unspeakable, and almost impossible. We must find out what happened for him to be alive. Your personal feelings cannot get in the way of this."

Snape composed himself again, at the harsh tone. "You must understand, Headmaster," he droned, voice deadly, "that I cannot contain myself in this. You have to get someone else to do it. This is one matter I do not have any control over. If he and I were ever to meet again, it would not matter when or how, but one of us would end up dying."

"No, Severus. This is one matter _I_ do not have any control over. Since, as the doctors see it, Sirius has no real identity, the only person who would be allowed to take him out of the hospital would be a family member who could identify him. As you are the only relation left of the Blacks, however far removed and indistinct, you are the only one available to transport him from St. Mungo's. They will most likely administer a blood test, to be absolutely sure."

Snape rose from his seat. "Very well, headmaster." He turned to the door to leave. Dumbledore was uneasy at how quickly the reply was given. Severus had that unconscionably calm look again.

"You will not do anything foolish, will you, my boy?"

Snape glanced back coldly. "I never do anything foolish. You are the one who does if for me."

The headmaster let it slide, this one time, as he sank back into his chair. Well, Severus was far better at judging what he was capable of then he ever would be.

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end chapter 1! Well, it was pretty boring, I thought. I dunno. It was an intro, though, and I pretty much had it down for upfront characterization. The exciting parts are the next two chapters, death threats...choking, etc etc. Tell me if this one was good. Any tips on how to make it shorter or better is appreciated! I thought this chap. was a bit long winded, but enough, review and tell me what YOU all think! 


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